Life Partners
by penspot
Summary: Some small life partner moments between Karl and Twenty-six that we didn't see enough of in the show. Please R
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've just been watching the series and mini-series again. Wow, I haven't seen them in years, but I still love it. Twenty-six is adorable and it irritated me how they never really showed Karl with his life-partner as much as they did in the mini-series. He seemed to be too preoccupied trying to get off the island.**

**Anyways, I thought I would remedy that, so here is some drabbles of Karl/Twenty-six moments. **

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Life Partners

"Twenty-six, get out of there. You'll hurt yourself," Karl said exasperatedly.

The little Chasmosaur had managed to climb on top of Zippo's desk and was stomping all over the papers. She had been an interesting handful all day and Karl was growing tired of it. She had managed to knock over to ink jars, rip up three pillows, and continually cried for food.

Pulling the growing, scaly body off of the desk, Karl held his life partner in his arms, eyes both tired and stern.

"I've had just about enough of your attitude today. If you don't knock it off I'll—" Twenty-six looked up at him with big black eyes and squeaked.

"Don't look at me like that. You're in trouble."

More squeaks and squawks mixed with big sad eyes. Karl sighed and tightened his arms around her.

"What am I going to do with you?" he asked before setting his little baby down. She jumped away and started running around again. Shaking his head, Karl flopped down in a chair.

"Who knew being a parent could be so tough."

"You'll get used to it," said Frank from the door. He had just arrived from the Trading Post and silently watched his son with the baby dinosaur. "Missed you at the Trading post today."

"Yeah, well… Zippo has work to do and I needed to spend some more time with Twenty-six. Nothing happened I hope."

"Nah, just the usual poker whipping by LeSage's crew and the bridge whipping by the Dinotopians."

Karl smirked and nodded before turning to watch his baby run under the table dragging and feather in her mouth.

"I was just going to see Waldo, you wanna come?"

"Eh, nah. I need to stay with Twenty-six."

"Marion finally get on your case?"

"No, it was Rosemary. She said that: _I spend more time at the Trading Post then with Twenty-six and such reckless up-bringing is sure to make her a recluse_."

"Maybe you should start thinking about training her," Frank offered. Karl gave him a pointed look.

"Dad, she's not a dog. And she's only a baby. What _can_ I do yet?"

"She's a baby that talks. At least, Marion and Zippo know what she's saying."

"That's because they speak Dinotopian."

"Well, if you are supposed to be a parent to this dinosaur, you're going to need to learn to discipline."

"Oh, like you did. Take away our cell phones for a week unless we behave?" Karl countered.

Frank winked. "Something like that." Getting up, Karl's dad walked to the door and left to find the mayor of Waterfall City. Karl watched him leave when suddenly there was a crash.

Whipping around, he found Twenty-six had run head first into a stand that once held a clay pot of flowers. Now the flowers were scattered across the floor mixed with dirt and broken clay pieces lay around those.

"Twenty-six!" Karl got up and ran to the baby Chasmosaur, picking her up and gently checking to see if she was cut or hurt. Once the diagnostic proved all was well, he turned her in his arms and looked hard into her eyes.

"Don't ever do that again!" Twenty-six squeaked joyfully, but Karl wasn't happy. _Discipline, huh_?

Taking the wriggling baby under his arm, Karl carried her to her crib and set her down in it. "You're going to stay there and think about what you did while I clean up your mess. Understood?"

Twenty-six just whimpered and squeaked in reply. Karl left, but his baby wasn't at all happy. Squawking and stomping, the little Chasmosaur threw a temper tantrum to get her surrogate father's attention. But he wasn't listening. Finally she quieted down and the only sounds that could be heard was the scuffling of the teenage boy as he picked up Twenty-six's mess.

When the room was decently fixed, Karl returned to his room where Twenty-six sat patiently in her bed.

"I haven't spent much time with you lately, have I?"

Twenty-six squeaked in reply. Karl smiled and pulled his baby out of the crib. "Was all of this for attention?"

The Chasmosaur snuggled into her "dad's" arms, rubbing her plate against his side. Karl hugged her tight and rocked her back and forth.

"You won't tear up the place again, understood?"

But now Twenty-six was asleep, all her energy spent on the fiasco before. Karl sat down with her in his arms and drew her even closer. And they remained like that through the night, life partners for all time.

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**A/N: If you liked, please send in your reviews. If you didn't like, still send in the reviews. All feedback is welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the review recieved from the last moment. These are not necessarily in order so here is a moment that could've happened shortly after Twenty-six was hatched and before Karl found the boat. Keep in mind that I liked the Karl from the min-series and the David from the regular series, so those are the kind of characters I'll be using in my Dinotopia fanfictions. Please send in your reviews to tell me if you liked these moments or not and if I should continue.**Life Partners

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_Karl's POV_

They make me watch a dinosaur egg, fine. They make me name her and feed her once she hatches, I can live with that. But I can't take responsibility for a baby dinosaur! I'm getting out of here, and I can't take her with me.

She's rocking back and forth in her wooden crib, only hours after hatching. Her scales are a rosy colored pink and her eyes are big and black like a puppy's. Alright I admit it, she's cute in that baby animal kind of way. But that doesn't change anything.

The fire was warm and dim and watching Twenty-six rock back and forth... it's making… me… sleepy…

"Karl?"

I jump up and turn to see Rosemary with a tray of "food."

"Oh, hey."

"Tired?"

"Exhausted."

"Well, then you should go to bed."

"I can?"

"Of course. Your life partner has fallen asleep, she'll be fine."

"Oh… um, alright."

"Here, I thought you may be hungry. It's almost time for breakfast and you did not eat much yesterday."

"Thanks," I said and took the tray. It was more vegetables. Lettuce… some tomato… was that hay? No, just some weird squash stuff. My stomach growled in annoyance from being empty so long. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.

Digging in, I sat back down and watched Rosemary crouch down beside the crib. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"Uh, sure?"

Rosemary gave me a look. I coughed, "I mean, yeah… I guess."

"You don't think she's beautiful?"

What was she playing? "Of course she's beautiful. I just mean… well she's as beautiful as a dinosaur can get."

"Would you care to explain what that means?" Rosemary asked lightly. I stood up.

"I don't know. What do you want me to say?"

"I don't want you to say anything. I just simply asked you a question."

"Yeah, well I get your game Rosemary. Everything you say has some deep elaborate meaning behind it like you're some female Yoda. I agree that she's beautiful!"

"Ssh, you'll wake her."

"What do you want from me? I'm not staying in Dinotopia. I named her, I fed her, I watched her hatch just like you wanted. But I'm no parent! I can't look after a baby dinosaur if I'm not going to be here."

Rosemary stood up then, her eyes locking on mine. It was a tad bit weird, like she was my principal or something.

"Do you really want to leave so badly?"

"Yes! I want to go home! What part of that don't you understand?"

"I don't understand your continual motive to want to run away. You are here and you've been given a charge and a responsibility. The doors have been closed behind you yet you seem to want to keep banging on them and ignore the pathway ahead of you."

"What, a path in Dinotopia? A path with her?" I pointed at Twenty-six's sleeping form.

"Yes."

I shook my head. "That's not what I had planned to do with my life. I didn't want to be a father. I don't even know I can."

"Life rarely allows us to do what we have planned. We can only react to what we are given. You have been given her responsibility, her care. Show that you are not afraid. Do not continue to run from what you have received."

I looked down at my feet and kicked a stone out of the way. Rosemary sighed and walked past me. "I suggest getting some sleep."

"Yeah, sure," I answered, but I wasn't really paying attention. Instead I crouched down by Twenty-six's crib. Gently brushing over her scales, I heard her give a little sneeze. She was beautiful.


End file.
